Recently my husband and I were deciding on where to go for on our next vacation. It was then that an ad came on the TV. The ad showed white sandy beaches, turquoise crystal clear water and the voice-over announcer promised luxury and escape.
Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa in Jamaica is located an hour and a half by car from Montego Bay. After arriving at the airport in Montego Bay we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a wonderful lounge complete with plush chairs, drinks and friendly staff. If you do visit any of the Sandals in Jamaica be sure to stop by their lounge in the airport. It was a welcome surprise after a long flight.
There are many accommodation options available and the quality of room is dependent on how much you are willing to spend. We booked a beachfront room but ended up being upgraded to a loft with butler access because my travel agent is a miracle worker. Now, I was skeptical of anything to do with a butler type service. My husband and I were brought up modestly and don’t really like relying on others to do things for us. Our butlers were wonderfully kind people who loved their jobs and assisting guests of the resort.
Here’s the thing about Sandals though. I think if you don’t have the butler level of service you don’t really have the experience that Sandals advertises. For example, our butler would reserve a beach cabana everyday for us. Those that didn’t have a butler had to get up before the sun in order to secure a spot on the white sandy beach that drew us to this particular spot. On the flip side, however, if you were unable to get to the beach in time to reserve your spot, there is always plenty of room at both pools and myriad activities to keep you entertained, including kayaking and water bikes.
The best part of the Sandals experience other than those glorious white sandy beaches and the staff has to be the food. With four restaurants and a late night beach grill there are lots of options available. Our favorite restaurants were the Sundowner that featured Jamaican classics as well as Barefoot on the Beach (literally on the beach) serving seafood specialties.
Overall our trip to Sandals Negril was relaxing and certainly luxurious. I recommend the resort to any beach lover or those just looking to get away from it all.
Editor’s Note: If you visit sandals.com there is a handy little box you can click that checks upcoming availability at various Sandals resorts during the busy winter months. It isn’t really a surprise that Cailin and her husband weren’t the only ones inspired to head to Jamaica on a whim, huh?
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Great post and photos! Wish we had known about this a couple weeks ago….we were debating on vacation options for this month and trying to find something last minute at a reasonable price. We ended up finding a Southern Caribbean cruise that will be nice (provided we can get in and out of JFK next week), but will def keep Sandals in mind (especially if they have good food!!! LOL)
Wow, you had me at beach, and those photos will definitely have me dreaming of sandy shores and warmer weather. The butler service sounds like the way to go. Thanks for the tip and nice post timed perfectly for all of us with the winter blues.
I absolutely love, love, love that first picture. Geeting up before sunrise to secure a beach cabana if you don’t have butler service? Now, that would put me off plenty. You were lucky your travel agent was a miracle worker.
Sounds absolutely wonderful…how could you go & not grab a butler? Would be tops on my list…you two certainly got spoiled! And love the photos – gorgeous! I agree with Margo, a perfect spot for last-minute vacay inspiration.
Thanks Ladies! It was a nice and relaxing trip, but I think we both realized were not “hang around a beach for seven days” kind of people. I think we will stick to Europe and cities 😉